_____________________________________________________________________________ \\\\\___ JIM REEVES RESOURCES ___\"-._ /////~~~ tinyurl.com/jimreeves ~~~/.-' Goan Web Resources tinyurl.com/goanlinks _____________________________________________________________________________ Engelbert Humperdinck *Scroll down for additional Engelbert tour articles _____________________________________________________________________________ Always in love _____________________________________________________________________________ RONITA TORCATO The Hindu Engelbert's songs seem to emerge from the angst of a man unashamed of confessing he feels hopelessly miserable without love. ROMANTIC BALLADEER: Engelbert Humperdinck has been around for a long time. AN angel in disguise from a Mumbai broadsheet generously gives me a number - a hotline to romantic balladeer Engelbert Humperdinck. I had met him some 20 years ago and managed to speak to him on the day of his concert in Delhi. And was gratified to find he's got a pretty good sense of recall. He'd been giving one-on-one interviews, which had left him "very tired because I'm not a young rock-and-roll star but yes, it's great to be back, and yes, I remember our meeting and I especially recall meeting David Gower too." It was all of 20 years ago when, as a staffer on India's now sadly defunct first morning tabloid, I'd scooped Engelbert's hush-hush visit to India. He still likes to keep mum about it; the impresario promoting the India segment of Engelbert's concert tour was unaware of the trip. Engelbert was scheduled to visit Anglo-Indian relatives from his mother's side in Madras. I was disappointed there would be no concerts and mighty pleased when my photographer Firoze Mistry shot a photograph of the two of us. But that was back then. Firoze is now in the U.S. and Engelbert was finally singing in India where he continues to command a sizeable fan following. Very popular When we were young and callow, we had only a quartet of radio stations to choose from - BBC, VOA, AIR and Radio Ceylon. The last two especially AIR's "Saturday Date" played the music of singers like Engelbert Humperdinck, Jim Reeves, The Seekers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Carpenters and Tom Jones; all of whom were enormously popular with the "Macks" and the "Bawa" crowd. Engelbert was worshipped to the extent that the Konkani singers non-pareil, Alfred and Rita Rose, named an offspring after him. When I grew older and wiser and started being really attentive to lyrics (see what happens when you really listen!) I found I couldn't empathise with the zeitgeist of songs that went "Please release me, let me go, for I don't love you anymore...". Why couldn't people renew their vows of undying love? Why couldn't the man make a fresh start and fall in love all over again? Love, in my reckoning, was a many-splendored thing that lasted forever, which was why I liked Engel's "How Near is Love". No Goan (and I dare say Parsi) event was complete without Engelbert's music. It was perfectly in sync for our weddings, dances, village socials and Sunday morning hops for the waltz, fox trot or dancing. "Release Me", his 1967 smash hit version of the 1950s country song was the one that started it all for Engelbert, displacing my favourite Beatles and Elvis from the charts to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records. Records galore Engelbert proceeded to garner sales in excess of 130 million records, including 64 gold albums and 24 platinum albums, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the coming years, he would perform for Queen Elizabeth II, several Presidents and heads of state. And finally, finally, finally, concert in India; in the middle of a schedule that covered Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Ireland, Germany and the US. In Mumbai, the promoter was unable to find a corporate sponsor and the prohibitively priced tickets (between Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 7,000) kept most of his fans away. Even so, the venue, the splendid Jamshed Bhabha Opera Hall was almost full. The Mumbai concert was book ended by performances in New Delhi and Bangalore. Enge's plans to sing in Chennai didn't fructify, which he hopes to remedy by coming back soon. Like certain other showbiz people (like Vivien Leigh, Cliff Richard and Merle Oberon) Enge (or the Hump) has an India connection. He was born Arnold George Dorsey on May 2, 1936, in Madras - the result of his father being stationed here with the British army. In the mid-1940s the family relocated to Leicester, England. "I have such wonderful childhood memories of Madras. I like the sun, and my 10 siblings and I went from a big home in India to relatively modest surroundings in England, which can be so cold and grey. Life in England was tough initially, but then we settled down." Engelbert was musically gifted; playing the sax from the time he was 11. Did his father expect him to follow in his footsteps? "Well, I was conscripted into the army and I served for a while in Germany where I learnt a bit of German." Back in England, he tried to establish a firm foothold in the music arena when his manager thought Gerry Dorsey wasn't so hot a monicker, and came up with Engelbert Humperdinck. The original Engelbert Humperdinck was a German, best known for his 1893 opera "Hansel and Gretel". He did not sing in German at the J.J. Bhabha Hall but rendered "Blue Spanish Eyes" in Spanish and English with his back up female singers. He also sang "The Last Waltz", "There Goes My Everything", "Release Me", "Quando", "Love Me With All of Your Heart" and excerpts from his new album "Let there be love" strutting his stuff, pretending his bones were stiff and he could only amble stiffly, spinning off-colour jokes; in short, he had the audience clamouring for more. Writing poetry Last year, he published his autobiography titled What's in a name? The Autobiography; on his website, you can hear him recite poetry, which he started writing 20 years ago, because "writing poems fulfilled my need for self-expression". He doesn't have a favourite poet and he was reluctant to name his all-time favourite singer. "That's a hard question, because it will upset a lot of people, but I could tell you that I love Nat King Cole's classic style and warm, rich voice..." Englebert's own songs seem to emerge from the angst of a man who is unashamed of confessing he feels hopelessly miserable without love. Unsurprisingly, he's been called the King of Romance even though he hasn't confined himself to romantic ballads, but sung disco, soft rock, themes from the movies, even gospel. "The best thing about being a popular singer is love, love, love. The love of my family, the love of fans. I've had such a great time making music. I've been so lucky. I've had such a great life. And I'm so happy to be singing here at last because I absolutely love India." FROM: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/07/24/stories/2005072400220500.htm _____________________________________________________________________________ Evergreen singer Engelbert Humperdinck to tour India _____________________________________________________________________________ Rezaul H. Laskar, May 25 New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Crooner Engelbert Humperdinck, who was born in Chennai and became a rage in the 1960s with his melodious ballads that are hummed upto this day, will tour India for the first time in June. Engelbert will play three concerts as part of the "Compassion and Endurance" tour to raise funds for the Bangalore-based ACTS Trust, which has been involved in environmental activism and education and is currently working to rehabilitate victims of the Dec 26 tsunami. The singer will perform at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi June 5, the Jamshed Baba Theatre, NCPA, in Mumbai June 7 and the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Bangalore June 9. Though not very well known among today's youth, Engelbert's songs continue to be a favourite with the older generations, especially hits like "The Last Waltz" and "There Goes My Everything". Greats like Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, Tom Jones and Dean Martin have accompanied Engelbert on stage and there was a time when The Carpenters were the opening act for his sell-out concerts. Even after four decades in showbiz, Engelbert is still considered the "King of Romance". Engelbert was born Arnold George Dorsey on May 2, 1936 in Madras, now known as Chennai, where his father was posted in the British Army during World War II. When he was 10, the family moved to Leicester where he learnt to play the saxophone. Young Dorsey discovered his vocal talent at a contest in a pub. He realised he could do impersonations, especially of the comedian Jerry Lewis, and these were so good that he became known as "Gerry Dorsey". It was as Gerry Dorsey that he became a hit on the British music circuit until he came down with a severe attack of tuberculosis. He recovered and his manager gave him the name Engelbert Humperdinck after the German composer who wrote the opera "Hansel and Gretel". The odd tongue twister of a name caught the people's fancy and radio jockeys shortened it to "The Humper" when his songs began to climb the charts. At one time, Engelbert's song "Release Me" stayed at the No 1 spot for a record 56 consecutive weeks in Britain, curbing the rise of Beatles' "Penny Lane". Elvis Presley copied Engelbert's bushy sideburns and turned them into a style statement of the late 1960s and 1970s. Engelbert has sold in excess of 135 million copies of his albums, including 64 gold albums and 24 platinum albums, garnered four Grammy nominations and winning a Golden Globe for Entertainer of the Year (1988) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has performed before Queen Elizabeth, several presidents and many heads of state. The current year is already shaping up as one of the best for Western music lovers in India, with Sting, Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and guitarist Joe Satriani having toured the country. Reports suggest that several more artists, including heavy metal act Megadeth and Eric Clapton are set to play in India in the coming months. FROM: http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=83574&cat=Entertainment ____________________________________________________________________________ HERE'S ANOTHER GREAT ARTICLE ON HUMPERDINCK'S TOUR ____________________________________________________________________________ Chennai-born Humperdinck to perform in India in June New Delhi, May 26 (UNI): Engelbert Humperdinck, whose all-time hits like 'The Last Waltz' and 'There Goes My Everything' created pop history when first released, is finally returning to perform in the country of his birth - India. Humperdinck will hold three charity concerts at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore on June 5, 7 and 9 respectively, as part of his "Let There be Love" tour in aid of the Bangalore-based ACTS Trust which has been involved in environmental activism and education and is now working for the rehabilitation of tsunami victims. The singer, whose first hit 'Release Me' stayed in the pop charts at number one for 56 weeks and whose bushy sidelocks were copied by the king of rock, Elvis Presley, in the 60s, was born Arnold George Dorsey in Chennai where his father was posted in the British Army during the Second World War. When Arnold was 10, the family moved to Leicester where he learnt to play the saxophone. Young Dorsey discovered his vocal talent at a contest in a pub. He also realized he could do impersonations, especially of the comedian Jerry Lewis. These were so good that he became known as "Gerry Dorsey" and became a hit on the British music circuit and on live television until he came down with a severe attack of tuberculosis. After his recovery, his manager gave him the name Engelbert Humperdinck after the German composer who wrote the opera 'Hansel and Gretel' which radio jockeys often shortened to 'The Humper' as the name proved to be a tongue twister. Humperdinck has generated sales in excess of 135 million records, including 64 gold albums and 24 platinum, bagged four Grammy nominations, won a golden Globe for Entertainer of the Year (1988) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has performed before Queen Elizabeth, several presidents and many heads of state. His music has transcended time and he has recorded everything from the most romantic ballads to movie theme songs, disco, rock and even gospel. The ACTS Trust is a non-governmental organisation committed to holistic development in education, environment, health, research and development. Dr Ken Gnanakan, founder of ACTS Trust, is an accomplished musician who used to be a part of the Trojans, the band that kept Bangalore swinging in the sixties. The show has been organised by Eventually Corporate Promotions, founded by actor, stand-up-comedian, columnist and entrepreneur Ajit Saldanha. FROM: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200505260388.htm ____________________________________________________________________________ Yet another super article about Humperdinck's India Tour ____________________________________________________________________________ I have many memories of Chennai: Engelbert Humperdinck ____________________________________________________________________________ Rezaul H. Laskar, May 28 New Delhi, May 28 (IANS): As he prepares for his first ever concert in India, evergreen singer Engelbert Humperdinck says he cherishes the memories of his childhood in Chennai, the city where he was born and lived for a decade. "I'm looking forward to the concerts in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and wish I could have performed in Chennai as well. I have many memories of Chennai where I grew up," the smooth-voiced Engelbert, now 69, told IANS in an email interview. "I remember our large bungalow, all those wonderful monsoon smells and the harbour with its ships and fishing boats. I almost drowned when I was six years old when I fell off a bunch of logs floating on an inlet near the harbour. "My younger brother saved my life," Engelbert said ahead of his tour of India next month for a series of concerts to raise funds for Bangalore-based NGO ACTS Trust that is working to rehabilitate victims of the Dec 26 tsunami. And at an age when most people would be content to retire to a life of comfort, Engelbert -- born Arnold George Dorsey on May 2, 1936 as the son of a British soldier posted in India -- said he planned to do "more albums, more concerts, more television appearances, more travel". "More is the catch word," he quipped, looking back at a chequered career that has included sales of 130 million copies of albums across the globe and earned him awards like a Golden Globe for entertainer of the year. He attributed his long career of over four decades to "the grace of god and the fact that I still love to get up there on stage, looking my audience in the eye and give them my very best". Engelbert described his latest album "Let There Be Love" as "a bouquet of love songs with classics from Nat King Cole and more contemporary songs from Ronan Keating and Bryan Adams". "My executive producer Nick Battle and producer Simon Franglen spent many hours listening to my past albums to work out the feel of the new one. They all have a slight jazz feel and I am happy with the result," he said. At the same time, Engelbert was happy that his old hits like "Quando Quando Quando" and "Release Me" had been remixed to dance beats for a younger audience. "It makes me feel relevant and wanted. Most of all, it gives my big hits another dimension altogether," he remarked. When Engelbert was 10, his family moved from India to Leicester where he learnt to play the saxophone. Young Arnold Dorsey discovered his vocal talent at a contest in a pub. He realised he could do impersonations, especially of the comedian Jerry Lewis, and these were so good that he became known as "Gerry Dorsey". It was as Gerry Dorsey that he became a hit on the British music circuit until he came down with a severe attack of tuberculosis. He recovered and his manager gave him the name Engelbert Humperdinck after the German composer who wrote the opera "Hansel and Gretel". The odd tongue twister of a name caught the people's fancy and radio jockeys shortened it to "The Humper" when his songs began to climb the charts. Greats like Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, Tom Jones and Dean Martin have accompanied Engelbert on stage and there was a time when The Carpenters were the opening act for his sell-out concerts. Engelbert has many colourful tales about those and once quipped that Elvis had "stolen" the long sideburns and flashy jumpsuits from him. "Those were the days, my friend. Elvis once wanted to steal some of my musicians. Actually he thought they were working for me part-time and since he liked their work, he wanted to take them on his tour. "When he realized his mistake, he apologized," said Engelbert, who has performed before Queen Elizabeth, several presidents and many heads of state. "As for Tom Jones, it was his manager who gave me my stage name and signed me on. For many years people compared and contrasted our styles. But in the end I suppose we both did very well. "And as for me, I am still kicking, still singing, still wanting to travel around the world. For singing is the only think I do well," Engelbert said. Engelbert will perform at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi June 5, the Jamshed Baba Theatre, NCPA, in Mumbai June 7 and the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Bangalore June 9. Noting that concerts would help the victims of the Dec 26 tsunami, he said: "Come and listen. Your money will go for a good cause, helping your brother and sister in need." FROM: http://www.nowrunning.com/news/news.asp?id=3449 ____________________________________________________________________________ Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html Doctrine of International Copyright Law ____________________________________________________________________________